Why preventive care is important

Remember the old saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? This can be especially true when it comes to preventive health care. Maintaining or improving your health is important - and a focus on regular preventive care, along with following the advice of your doctor, can help you stay healthy.

Home Treatment
Seek emergency medical care immediately. Both Tylenol and codeine overdoses can be rapidly fatal. DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING.

Before Calling Emergency
Determine the following information:

The patient’s age, weight, and condition

The name of the product (as well as the ingredients and strength, if known)

The time it was swallowed

The amount swallowed

If the medication was prescribed for the patient

Poison Control, or a local emergency number
See Poison Control Centers for telephone numbers and addresses. Take the container with you to the emergency room.

What to expect at the emergency room

For swallowed poison
o Placement of a tube down the nose and into the stomach (a nasogastric tube, or an NG tube) to wash out the stomach (gastric lavage).
o Activated charcoal administration.
o Give IV fluids.
o Admission to the hospital.
o For Tylenol, N-Acetyl cysteine is given if the blood Tylenol level is high enough. Without the antidote, the patient has fatal liver failure.
o Treat the symptoms.
o Give a counteracting medication (narcotic antagonist). Multiple doses may be needed.

Expectations (prognosis)
If an antidote can be given, recovery from an acute overdose often occurs within 24-48 hours.

Last revised: December 4, 2012by Harutyun Medina, M.D.

Medical Encyclopedia

All ArmMed Media material is provided for information only and is neither advice nor a substitute for proper medical care. Consult a qualified healthcare professional who understands your particular history for individual concerns.

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